‘Modern Family’ Co-Creator Condemns Fox News

Steve Levitan, the co-creator and executive producer of Modern Family, is the latest creative to speak out against 20th Century Fox over the company’s ties to Fox News. In a series of tweets sent out this afternoon, Levitan seemed to hint at ending his deal with Fox because of the blatantly racist bent of their news network before hastily walking back the comments in an official statement.

Levitan is one of a handful of creatives who have (or had) deals with 20th Century Fox and are using social media to speak out against the studio for its ongoing ties with Fox News. Judd Apatow, Paul Feig, and Seth MacFarlane have also condemned the studio’s silence regarding Fox News, with the Family Guy creator saying that he’s “embarrassed” to work for the company that owns the conservative right wing news network — you know, the same network responsible for such brilliant observations as, “It’s not an interment camp, it’s a summer camp,” with regards to the Trump administration’s “hard line” on detaining immigrants and separating them from their children, who are being held in “detention centers” that curiously resemble cages. It’s the darnedest thing, really.

Levitan’s initial tweet seemed to imply that he was cutting ties with the studio, which has remained silent regarding the obnoxiously racist sentiments and utter inaccuracies being shared on Fox News:

While some rejoiced at the notion that Levitan, whose long-running sitcom has been a major hit on ABC, might go so far as to walk away from his overall network deal to send a message to Fox, that wasn’t the case. In a follow-up tweet, Levitan added, “I look forward to seeing #ModernFamily through to the end and then, sale or no sale, setting up shop elsewhere.” And in an official statement to Variety, Levitan walked his comments back so far that they became meaningless:

I have great respect and admiration for Dana Walden, Gary Newman, Peter Rice, and everyone at 20thCentury Fox Studios who have all treated me so well for almost 2 decades. For now, I will take some time to see where those people land, and at that point, make a decision about my future.